In recent years, the organic optoelectronic device has been developing quite rapidly. Both organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and organic photovoltaic (OPV) device have achieved great advance in academics and industries, and their qualities are gradually close to those of inorganic optoelectronic device. Basically, the organic optoelectronic device is formed by sandwiching proper organic thin film materials between two electrode layers. Upon the application of voltage, the electrons and holes are recombined in the organic compound layer to emit light. OLED can be applied to the tablet display and lighting device due to the advantages of self-illumination, high brightness, light weight, ultra-thin profile, low power consumption, wide viewing angle, simple manufacturing process, quick response time, etc. As to the OPV device, the electrons will transit across the energy gap of the organic compound upon absorption of external light. Subsequently, the electrons and holes will separate and move in the organic compound layer to form the photocurrent. The OPV device gradually attracts attention from the industries due to the advantages of light weight, ultra-thin profile, simple manufacturing process, low cost, etc.
In the practical application of organic optoelectronic device, the series connection of devices has its importance and necessity. Generally, under a fixed luminance, an OLED device with a large light emitting area has a large operating current, resulting in deterioration of luminance uniformity of the light emitting surface, which is due to the voltage drop difference caused by impedance. At the same time, large operating current also tends to cause short circuit at the sites where the thickness is not uniform or particles are attached in the OLED device. On the other hand, if the OLED device is divided into several OLED components, each having a smaller area and connected in series, then the operating current of the OLED device can be significantly reduced which further improves the uniformity of luminance and simultaneously decrease the risk of short circuit in the OLED device. Similarly, for the OPV device, if it is divided into several OPV components, each having a smaller area and connected in series, the open circuit voltage of the OPV device can be significantly increased, and the risk of short circuit in the OPV device can also be decreased. In the currently available processes for manufacturing OLED components connected in series and arranged side by side, the electrode layers and organic layers need to be deposited respectively by using different metal masks according to the variously defined structures and patterns. However, every metal mask replacement needs to spend a lot of time for re-aligning and positioning. Moreover, during the replacement process, the OLED components are easily contaminated by the particles, and the metal mask is also easily damaged. Therefore, it has become an important issue to effectively simplify the manufacturing process for OLED components connected in series and arranged side by side, to improve the yield of the OLED device simultaneously, and to further achieve the reduction of the manufacturing time and production cost.